Border services | Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Border
services

Improved processes for importers

Businesses that import goods into Canada can lose time and money when faced with intensive paperwork and administrative tasks related to managing duties and taxes — or when they learn of delays only after they make the trip out to the border to collect their goods. To be as agile and efficient as possible in today’s global economy, businesses need streamlined processes and better electronic tools.

Electronic declarations for regulated goods

The Single Window Initiative (SWI) lets businesses that import regulated goods submit an integrated import declaration electronically to the appropriate government department or agency. The service also notifies importers once their goods have been recommended for release, with authorization from the appropriate federal body.

Online management of taxes and duties

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project will allow for the online management of taxes and duties. Through ongoing enhancements to their client accounts, importers will soon also be able to view and manage import taxes and duties through a single online interface.

Electronic tax and duty payment

For convenience, efficiency and accuracy, companies can now pay their import taxes and duties electronically through the CBSA Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) system using the services offered by their financial institution.

Paperless importing, no delays

If you run a business that imports goods from other countries, you know there can be a lot of paperwork involved — and sometimes delays waiting for shipments to clear the border. With the launch of the Single Window Initiative, you can put down your pen and complete many forms faster and more conveniently online. You’ll also be notified automatically as soon as regulated goods are approved for release.

Impact in brief

10 government departments and agencies currently participate in the Single Window Initiative, which supports:

Streamlining import processes

Reducing paper burden

Decreasing cost of doing business

Electronic submission of documents for the importation of vehicles

Importers and brokers increased their use of the electronic payment functionality with a migration from cheque to electronic payments by approximately 60 percent from July 2017 to February 2018. This demonstrates that the new electronic payment functionality better responds to the needs of the importer and broker communities in terms of paying their duties and taxes.